Cylinder for washing machines and the like



Aug. .9,' 1932. T. J. POWER CYLINDER FOR WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 16, 1931 Gttornegs.

Aug. 9, 1932. T. J. POWER CYLINDER FOR WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Sept. 16. 1931 Imventor Tho/flats :Ifbwer fllllll plll lll 'Cttornegs.

Patented Aug. 9, 1932 siren STATES onion,

THOMAS J. rowan, or SYRACUSE, lvnwivonx, AS-SIGNOR 'ro UNIT -n srn'rnsnorrmau' MACHINERY CORPORATION, on NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORA ION or DELAWARE CYLINDER non WASHING MACHINES AND-THE LIKE Application filed September 16, 1931. Serial No. 563,176.

This invention pertains to an improved door construction and locking means therefor employed in connection with cylinders of washing machines and the like.

In modern washing machines the cylinders are sometimes quite long, and consequentlyit is advantageous, if not necessary, to employ a multiple-door construction for closing the opening in the cylinder through which the goods undergoing treatment are introduced and removed. It is likewise advantageous to have such opening entirely clear throughout its length when rugs and the like are being handled. a r

The main object of the invention resides in the provision of means whereby the doors when in open position are precluded from being interlocked, so that eachdoor may be moved to its closed position independently of the other. Y I

Said means also includes the provision of hinged division bar intermediate the adjacent ends of adjacent doors, which, along with the presence of certain 'coopera'tive looking means, securely maintains the/doors and bar in their closed and locked position with reference to each other and to the cylinder wall, while at the same time allowing the doors and bar (or bars) to be moved or swung to that position where the cylinder opening, is free of all obstructions.

Such full open position may obtain, however, when and only when the doors are unlocked from the division bar and the latter unlocked from the cylinder.

The invention is applicable to utilization in connection with wooden or 1netallic'cylin ders, but in the instant. case it is shown in connection with the former this,however,not by way of limitation' V Oneembodinient of the inventionis shown in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of so much of a. cylinder :and two adjacent doors, and the intermediate hinged division bar which cooperates with the doors,'as is necessary to an understanding of the structure;

Figure 2 a vertical sectional View taken on the line IIII of Fig. 1, with the door and I division bar in both of these figures being shown in looked relation with reference to each other and to the cylinder;

- Figure?) a vertical sectional viewsimilar to Fig. 2, with the door and division bar in their fully opened position;

Figure 4 a sectional elevation of-the latching and locking means employed in conjunction with the doors and the division bar, the parts being in the position shown in Fig. 3, and the door latches being precluded from entering the opening in the division bar;

Figure 5 is atransverse sectional view taken on the line VV of Fig. 1,'with the door latches shown in looking relation with the pivoted division bar;

Figure 6 a detail perspective view of one of the door latches; p

Figure 7 a perspective view of the lower ends of the division bar and the cooperating v V keeper for its locking bolt;

and v Figure 9' aperspective view of one of the door latches.

In. the drawings, 1 denotes the cylinder body. Between twol-ongitudinally extending ribs whereof, .2132 and 3, there is left an opening for the introduction and withdrawal of inaterial, which opening is designed to be closed by a plurality of doors. Two doors, or

Figure 8 a perspective view ofsuch bolt; 7

the ends of two doors, as-4 and are shown inthe instant case; it being-understood that i any number of doors may be utilized and a division bar 6, which will hehereinafter described in detail, plaeed between the adj acent ends of each pair of doors.

The hinges for the doors are alike in form throughout except as they are right and left hand as-the case maybe, hence a descriptionof one will suflice andsimilarparts upon the other or companion hinge will be similarly numbered with the exponent a applied thereto.

It will, of course, be understood that the ends of the doors at the ends of the opening adjacent the cylinder head may have any form of securing means cooperative with that element or with the heads, but inasmuch as such forms no part of the present invention, I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate the same. I

The door 4, which is arcuate in outline or formed upon the same radius as that of the cylinder, has secured toit adjacent its end, a hinge element or strap the cooperating butt 8 whereof is rigidlyalfixed to the cylinder body adjacent the upper margin of the opening formed in the cylinder wall.

The door adjacent the lower end of the hinge is cut away, as bestshown in Figs. 4 and, 5, to receive the inwardly projecting portion of the hinge strap 7 in which a transversely sliding latch 9 is mounted, said latch being normally projected outwardly to one side of the hinge toward the division bar 6 through the action of a spring 10 which encircles a stem 11 extending from the rear portion of the latch and abutting a fixed stem guide 12 projecting inwardly of the hinge structure. 7

As will be seen upon reference to Figs. 1 and 9, latch 9 is provided with a finger opening as 13 and with a stop 14, the latter extending upwardly into an opening 15 formed in the hinge strap 7. Said opening 15 is above opening 13 and is ofsuch length, in the direction of the-movement of the latch, that the operator may readilyvdraw thesame from looking relation with the adjacent por-' tion of the division bar. Stop 14 prevents the latch from being projected too far, or in other words holds the latch in its proper position when projected outwardly by its spring 10. v

Division bar 6 is connected to a butt 16 and, as will best v be seen upon reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, its 'pintle or pivotal connection .17, while standing parallel. to the pivotal or pintle connections 18 of the doors 4 and 5, is

' l doors 4 and; 5 in their locked belowand to the front of the pintles18- The outer face of the division bar is recessed adjacent each side thereof to receive the overlapping straps 7 and 7a of the door hinges, and adjace'nt its lower end it is provided with a transversely disposed opening orrecess 19, the upperwall'20 whereof cooperates withthe latches 9 and 9a to hold the 7 v j j position with reference to this division bar. 7 r Theextreme lower end ofthe division bar is provided with a head 21, inner'faces 22 .whereof are inclined'and'designed to make a wedging fit with, a corresponding recess formed in a keeper 23 secured to the lower wall or margin of'theopening. A sliding bolt 24 is mounted for movement longitu dinally of the lower end of the division bar, the bolt extending outwardly through the head and when the bolt is projected, cooperating with the keeper to lock the bar in its closed position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The bolt 24 is provided with a limiting stop or guide 25 extending laterally therefrom and through an opening formed in the body of the division bar.

The bolt 24 also has secured to its inner end a transversely extending bar or head 26 which lies within the opening 19 and is movable back and forth therein as the bolt 24 ismoved outwardly or inwardly.

As will be best seen upon reference to Fig. 7, that wall of the opening 19 which is formed in the bar 6'which lies nearest the outer end of the bar is cut away as at 27 in order to form finger recessesinto which theoperator may readily pass his finger and engage the crossbar 26 when it is desired to withdraw the bolt 24 from its locking engagement with the keeper.

Such-retraction of the bolt 24 cannot, however, take place so long as either one or the other of the latches 9 extendsinto the opening 19, as the parts are so positioned and proportioned, that when the latches 9 are in engagement with the bar 6, or in other words lie beneath the element 20, the bar 26 cannot be moved inwardly to withdraw the bolt 24. The bolt 24, or more specifically its crossbar 26 forms an interfering stop for the latches 9 when the bolt is moved inwardly, and the bar 26 is likewise moved inwardly of the opening '19. Thus, as will be seen upon referenceto Fig. 4, the latches 9 and 9a will be held outwardlyby the bar 26 and the springs 10 held under compression, thereby preventing either of the latches 9 or 9a from passing underand in engagement with the member 20.

Itwill also be seen upon reference to both Figs. 3 and 4, that by reason of the fact that the pintles l7 and 18 are out of alignment although parallel, the latches will be precluded-from passing into-the opening 19 as the doors andybarare thrown out of alignment, thus preventing registry of the latches 9 with the'opening 19. Moreover, the bar 26 stands in the position shown in Fig. 3, and blocks the passage of the latch or latches into the opening19 and into locking interengagement with the element 20 of the division bar.

It will be readily appreciated that when the division bar is brought down to closed position and locked by moving the bolt 24 home, the bar will, by reason of the beveled faces 22 andthe similarly formed faces on the keeper 23, drawthe parts together into der. Inlthis way the structure as a whole is tied together and becomes quite rigid.

The doors, moreover, may be lowered one by one without fear of'their becoming inter locked, and no undue strain is placed upon theoperator, as would be the case if the doors werev interconnected through the hinged division bar when'and after the doors and bar were thrown'upwardly into their open position. By having the division 'baras well as the doors hinged and freely movable into open position, the opening in the cylinder will be clear from one end to the other of any obstruction which would preclude the easy introduction or withdrawal of the material undergoing treatment.

As above noted, by the employment of a bolt which cooperates with the door latches to hold said latches out of locking engagement with the division bar until the bolt has been moved home and the bar locked in place with reference to the cylinder, the doors cannot be locked to the division bar at any other time. With such arrangement it is not essential that the pivotal points of the adjacent doors and the intermediate division bar be in alignment. That arrangement however is preferred.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a cylinder having an opening formed therein for the introduction and withdrawal of material, a plurality of doors; a division bar intermediate the adjacent ends of the doors, said doors and bar being independently hinged to the cylinder at a margin of the opening formed therein, the pivots of the doors aligning and the pivot of the bar being parallel to but out of line with the door pivots; and a latch carried by each door adjacent the free marginal portion thereof, said latches standing in alignment with an opening formed in the normally free end of the division bar for locking engagement therewith when the bar and one Lor both of the doors are moved to closed position, said latches by reason of the ofi'set position of the door and bar pivots being precluded from entering into cooperative locking relation at other positions of the parts.

2. The structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein means is provided for locking the free end of the division bar to the cylinder.

3. In combination with a cylinder having an opening formed therein for the introduction and withdrawal of material, a plurality of doors; a division bar intermediate the adjacent ends of the doors, said doors and bar being independently hinged to the cylinder at a margin of the opening formed therein; and means for independently interlocking each of said doors to the bar adjacent its free end, said means being inoperative to engage the bar when the doors are in a position other than wholly closed.

' 4. In combinationwith a cylinder having an opening formed therein for the introductionand withdrawal of material, a plurality of doors each hinged to the cylinder at the same margin of the opening, the pivotal con-' nections' being in substantial alignment; a division bar located between adjacent endsof said doors, said bar beinglikewise hinged to the cylinder adjacent the margin aforesaid, thepivotal connection of the bar lying parallel to but out of line with the pivots of the doors; and latches carried by each door operating with the bar to lock either one or both of said doors to the bar when and only when the doors are brought to their closed position. I

5. 'In combination with a cylinder havin an opening formed therein for the introduc tion and withdrawal of material, a closure for saidopening, said closure consisting ofat least two doors; and a division bar intermediate the adjacent ends of said doors, said doors and'bar being'hinged to thecylinder adjacent the same marginal edge of the opening; a lock carried by the free end of the bar for engagement with the cylinder; and a-latch carried by each door, said latches engaging the bar and being held out of locking engagementwith the bar until the lock carried by the bar is brought into locked position with the cylinder.

6. Incombination with acylinder having an opening formed therein-for the introduction and withdrawal of material, a pluralityof doors each hinged to the cylinder at the same margin of the opening, the pivotal connections being insubstantial alignment; a division bar located between the adjacent ends of said doors, the pivotal connection of said bar being out of alignment with that of the doors whereby the doors and bar will swing through different arcs as they are moved to their open or closed position with reference to the cylinder; means for lockingthe division bar to the cylinder; and means for locks,

ing each ofsaid doors to the division bar independent of each other when the bar is locked and the doors are brought to their closed position, said door locking means being inoperative to engage the bar at other positions of the parts owing to the different paths ofimovement through which the doors and bar pass in the opening and closing thereof.

7. In combinationwith a cylinder having an opening formedtherein for the introduction and withdrawal of materials, a plurality of doors each hinged to the cylinder at the same margin of' the opening, said doors swinging through a common path in their opening and closing movements; a division bar located between the adjacent ends of said doors and normally lying in a plane common to: said doors when the partsare inclosed posltlon, said bar beinglikewise hingedito the cylinder adjacent themargin aforesaid, said bar when shift-ed swinging through a path, different from that of the doors, whereby when the doors and bar are swung toward open position the free endof the bar will be thrown out of alignment with the adjacent portions of the doors; and locking means carried by the doors and the bar normally cooperative when the doors and bar are moved to closed position, said locking means being 7 precluded, from operating, by nonalignment of the parts, when the doors and bars have been disengaged from their locked relation and moved toward or into open po sition.

8. A structure such as set forth in claim 7 whereincmeans is provided for locking the freeend of,.-the division bar to the cylinder. v c

, 9. In combination with a cylinder having an opening formed in the curved wall thereof for the introduction and withdrawal of material; a plurality of arcuate shaped doors hinged to the cylinder at one margin of said opening; a division bar likewise hinged to the cylinder adjacent said margin and be-' tween said doors, the pivotal connection whereof is out of line with that of the doors, said bar having the same arcuate shape as that of the doors; means for locking the bar to the cylinder when the bar is swung to cylinder closing position; and means carried by each door and cooperative with the bar to lock the bar and doors together when, and only when, the doors and bar are in cylinder closing position.

10. A structure as set forth in claim 9, v

wherein the locking means carried by each door and cooperative with the bar comprises a bolt mounted upon each door and movable into an opening formed in the adjacent end of the division bar.

11. A structure as set forth in claim 9, wherein the means for locking the bar to the cylinder acts as a stop to prevent the door looks from. functioning until the bar locking means is moved to bar locking position. I J

12. In combination with a cylinder having an opening formed in the curved wall thereof for the introduction and withdrawal of material; a plurality of doors hinged to the cylinder at one margin of said opening; a division bar likewise hinged to the cylinder adjacent said margin and between said doors a lock carried by the free end of the division bar; a keeper mount-ed upon the cylinder and cooperative with the lock of the division bar to hold said bar in its closed position when the bar is swung downwardly; means carried by each door and cooperative with the bar to lock said doors and bar together; and means carried by the bar lock for preventing the door locks frombeing moved are thrown to their open position ther door' locks will be prevented from engaging with the division bar. i

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

THOMAS J. POWER. 

